Innovative forms and techniques are used in various ways to represent the twentieth-century city. Both When Dawn Comes to the City and Metropolis differ in the approaches and genres used, however both have one factor in common – the city. The twentieth-century city is represented throughout the poem ‘When Dawn Comes to the City’ and the silent film Metropolis – it is through two different mediums that we are able to see the impact of technology and modernity, and the conflict between traditional and modern values. The twentieth century city is seen as a place of opportunity, excitement but also alienation and resentment and it is these themes that will be explored through Metropolis and When Dawn Comes to the City. Form and technique are both used innovatively throughout the Metropolis and When Dawn Comes to the City to represent the twentieth-century city.
Metropolis is a highly regarded silent film, directed by Fritz Lang. Metropolis is regarded as one of the most influential films of its time – it serves as inspiration for countless films and it forced humanity to look critically at its increasingly complex relationship between industrial and technological growth. The film portrays a society that is divided into two distinct classes – while the wealthy live in an idyllic technologically advanced city above ground the workers struggle in bleak and dismal conditions underground. This contrast between society indirectly mirrors the way in which the twentieth-century city is portrayed as a place that can give but simultaneously take away opportunity. Metropolis is considered by many to be one of the freest filmic masterpieces of all time and represents the city through various means.
Upon first reflection ‘When Dawn Comes to the City’ contains sluggish and dull imagery when describing dawn in New York City – the use of words such as ‘tired, moaning, groaning, dull, cold’ all set the tone of the poem and the representation of the city – bleak and desolate sucking life and opportunity away from the people that reside there. The connotations associated with the following list of words reflect on the boredom, sadness and loneliness of Harlem. Mckay’s uses the technique of personification to bring the cars of New York alive; ‘moaning, groaning… crazy [and] lazy.’ The use of personification enables the reader to understand the representation of the twentieth-century being a concrete jungle, a place full on monotony – it’s almost as if the cars reflect on the habitants of Harlem city – struggling to get up and groggily plodding on with their day in their sea of concrete. Furthermore, the personification of the tired cars and the rumbling of the milk cartons gives the impression that Harlem is a town that never goes to sleep – even the inanimate objects are constantly moving around keeping the city alive. The technique of personification helps get across the message of a hustle and bustle city.
The techniques and forms present in Metropolis consist of special effects and set design that hold a visual impact – the film contains cinematic and thematic links towards German expressionism though the architecture that is present in the film resembles more of a contemporary feel. The entirety of the film is saturated and dominated by technology, Lang used both a mixture of 1920s and futuristic devices. Lang’s use of a mixture of devices allows us to observe the impact of technology and modernity between past and future.
‘When Dawn Comes to the City’ represents the life of Harlem and the sense of identity in a city that reduces all sense of freedom. The constant descriptive imagery and use of poetic techniques such as onomatopoeia keeps the reader focused and help build an image within their mind which in turn allows them to unconsciously concentrate on the nonstop pace of Harlem in the twentieth century. This poem is not about the individual people of Harlem, but rather about the city itself – there are no individual references to anyone and the references that are made are made through symbolism (i.e. dark figures) or in general (i.e. lonely newsboy). There are also many references to loneliness and almost isolation – displaying how the city can be a lonely jungle of solitude. References to loneliness and isolation include the lonely newsboy, under the same dull stars – these examples display and connote how despite the city being a hive of activity and modernity – it leaves a lot be desired. The loneliness further defines the black community’s independence from outsiders around them during that time period. The diction McKay uses in stanzas one and three almost allow the stanzas to drag reflecting the frustrations of the residents in Harlem – whereas the stanzas associated with the Island provide a rhyme scheme and repetition which are of an upbeat nature. This sharp contrast displays how McKay draws on pastoral tradition in Western Literature – the opposition between city and country displays how city life is considered to be inferior to rural life. The poem states how city life is boring and monotonous; ‘tired cars go grumbling by’ under ‘the same dull stars.’ The use of the word same insinuates that the twentieth century city is a prison of routine.
Metropolis depicts a world run by machines – the overall concept of a society run by machinery could be seen as another innovative use of technique to portray the twentieth century city. During the 20th century the automation of modern societies was on the increase and this is represented in Metropolis. One of the major statements Lang was making in this film was that society needed to return to a more humanistic mode rather than bowing to the constant advances in technology that ultimately result in the loss of life and everything we hold dear. One of the more obvious messages of the film is that the results can be disastrous when machines take on the role of humans – it displays how the advances in technology in the 20th century were not all they were cracked up to be and Metropolis is a prime example of what the 20th century city should not adhere to. The desire to escape is a prominent theme of the lower class citizens within Metropolis – a similar theme is expressed through When Dawn comes to the City – no matter how far in the future we advance the latter is always haunting us.
Mckay’s poetry suggests that life in the city more often than not restricts possibilities rather than offering them. These restrictions are emphasized within ‘When Dawn Comes to the City’ – despite the optimistic and hopeful title the majority of the imagery present in the poem displays the city as a dark and bleak place, the bleakness of the city becomes even more so apparent when the city is contrasted with an ‘Island of the sea’ – a beautiful, rural sight associated with vitality. Mckay’s innovative use of contrast and juxtaposition between the stanzas in ‘When Dawn Comes to the City’ illustrates a disparity between island and city life. The poem constantly switches from the increasingly helpless city to ‘the glory of the soft sunset’ – displaying the speakers desire to be elsewhere – constantly drifting back and forth between a bleak city that never sleeps and an Island so full of vitality. The constant back on forth can be seen to reflect and emulate the inner turmoil faced by the speaker about embracing the modern twentieth-century city rather than the precious island life. McKay marvels at the natural beauty of the island life in comparison to the dull shades of grey that the modern day city has to offer. McKay also introduces an ABABCDCD rhyme scheme in the two stanzas written about the city life which add to the monotony and vacant tone of the city – this innovative use of rhyme scheme represents the twentieth century city in a tedious way highlighting how the city despite its constant growth is a place filled with isolation, imprisonment and loneliness. McKay constantly draws on tradition and contrasts the past (the island life) with the present (the city) in order to express a sense of modernity. Not only this, McKay’s use of repetition along with onomatopoeia in the second and forth stanza when describing the noises of the island animals ‘crowing, cackling, neighing’ – this use of repetition and the emulation of animal noises allows the stanzas about the island to have a more upbeat tone as well as providing a sense of life to the poem which contrasts the lackluster city life. The descriptions about the natural beauty of the island seem to flow in a much looser structure in comparison to that of the city with its rigid rhyme scheme – the contrast between the island and the city help to draw representations of twentieth century city life – the poems constant juxtaposition between past and present, island and city display how the twentieth city is represented to be a place that is stuck in routine, mundane: a concrete prison.
Unlike McKay, the features and innovation featured in Fritz Lang’s Metropolis denote an era where the city is seen to be a place of freedom but simultaneously a place of imprisonment to those unable to afford the finer things in life. One of the innovative techniques Lang employs is through the plot of the film – during the film one of the machines breaks and leads to the city’s reservoirs overcapacity, which in turn floods the workers’ underground city and outwardly drowns their children. This scene in particular could be seen to hold a huge weight in the representation of twentieth-century city life – the scene can be interpreted in numerous ways one of which being the danger of city life – (the industrial revolution bought around many changes in machinery however Metropolis displays the city as a sea of machinery running and playing a significant part in city life) – the scene ultimately tells the viewer that indulging and relying on technology and modernity will discourage and lose the younger generation – this is embodied by the death of the children drowning. The scene is seen to show how too much of a good thing can result in consequences – despite opportunity ultimately it ended in loss. The scene of the flooding is undoubtedly one of the most impressive and innovative techniques that Lang uses throughout Metropolis – the hyperbole of the whole situation helps to highlight the main issue at hand with the twentieth century city life.
To conclude, both McKay and Lang use similar themes to display and represent the twentieth century city in their bodies of work. The prison of routine and the desire for escape are both prominent themes within Metropolis and ‘When Dawn comes to the City’. Both bodies of work use various themes, forms and techniques to highlight the struggle between embracing the modern day twentieth-century whilst trying to stay true to the traditional values of the city – McKay explores the inner turmoil that one finds once having realized that the modern day dream isn’t all it’s cracked up to be – instead we are left longing for a life vastly different from the city. McKay is able to explore these themes through the use of tone, rhyme scheme, personification, vivid imagery and onomatopoeia to name a few. On the other hand, Lang is able to bring the representation of the twentieth century through the depiction of modern technology and how the conflict it causes between social class but also the conflict between technological advances and old traditions. Both Lang and McKay explore the twentieth century city through various innovative techniques and forms.